Apple iWatch With Full iOS Slated For Release In 2013?

Yesterday, following Bloomberg’s report last month that suggested Apple has a dedicated team of approximately 100 employees focused on a post-PC smartwatch, a new article from the same news outlet claims that Apple may be gearing up to release such a device as early as this year.

Additionally, Bloomberg’s unnamed source provided additional details as to possible functions of a smartwatch, including the ability to make and screen calls, view location coordinates, track various lifestyle and health-related data and more.

Features under consideration include letting users make calls, see the identity of incoming callers and check map coordinates, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. It would also house a pedometer for counting steps and sensors for monitoring health-related data, such as heart rates, this person said.

In a similar article, The Verge revealed additional alleged “iWatch” details, suggesting that the device will run a “full” version of iOS, as opposed to a watered-down operating system – like the one found on Apple’s iPad nano. But realistically, how full can “full” actually be? Given how small a touchscreen watch display will inevitably be, there are obvious limitations to what such a device will be capable of.

However, it’s entirely possible that a specific app store and dedicated third-party apps will evolve from a watch-exclusive modified version of iOS.

Unfortunately, The Verge repots that prototype iWatch models are falling short of Apple’s supposed target battery life of “4-5 days” and instead “only going for a couple of days”.

With the number of Apple “iWatch” rumors increasing at a rapid rate, stay tuned for complete coverage on all Apple smartwatch news and rumors.